Build A Strong Keyword Pool With These Nifty Tricks

Keywords are the foundation of a strong online marketing campaign. Keywords connect your target audience with your website, establishing yourself as a trusted online resource for their particular needs.

However, people often flounder about when choosing keywords to target, unsure which words and phrases will work best for them.

Choose keywords that are too broad, encompassing, and competitive, and you will find yourself having difficulty ranking against bigger, more established websites. On the other hand, choose keywords that expose you to the wrong audience, and you will see your conversions drop. As such, it is important to get the right mix of long-tail keywords to ensure your website gets in front of the right online audience, without expending too much effort.

To get you started, here are a few tips on how you can develop a strong keyword pool.

Do Competitor Analysis

One of the best ways to figure out what keywords to target is to look at your competition. The level of competitiveness between industries often varies, and this is an aspect that can impact your spending. For example, the cleaning and maintenance industry in the UAE is one of the most saturated and competitive industries in the regional market. If you have a small budget, you might want to allocate your spending on a clump of long-tail keywords that are specific to your business. On the other hand, if you have a bigger budget, then you can go for more competitive key phrases that attract more traffic.

You can strategize your budget by using tools like SEM Rush and SpyFu. Tools like these can help you identify which keywords you are already ranking for on second page of search results, and who are ahead of you on the first page. Targeting keywords that are already on second and third page will help you gain more exposure, as you try to build more authority to rank for more competitive keywords.

Create a Smart, Efficient, Data-Based Strategy

Understanding your position in the online market can help you establish realistic, achievable shot-term and mid-term goals. Whether that means achieving second page on Google for a chunk of competitive keywords, or lowering the bounce rate of your website by a target percentage, create a plan and stick to it.

For mid-term goals, you could include getting on page one for select keywords, including a few competitive key phrases in your industry. To keep a close eye on where your website ranks for keywords, you can use a browser plugin called Fat Rank. Fat Rank allows you to target your monitoring to your particular country, so you can have a more geo-centric view of the performance of your online marketing campaign.

If you are running an online business, then it is essential to choose commercially-inclined keywords. Put yourself in the shoes of your potential customers, and think what descriptors you would use to search for your product and/or service. That may include terms such as ‘affordable’, ‘buy’, and ‘for sale.’

Another useful tool is the Google Keyword Planner. The Keyword Planner allows you to mine the historical data of a keyword, such as the number of searches that it averages monthly as well as its competitiveness in the market. If you need new keyword ideas, the Keyword Planner also provides keyword suggestions.

Keep in mind that some keywords experience seasonal spikes in search volume. If you want to see the bigger picture, hover over the specific keyword – this will give you a peek into search volume over time. Aim for consistency by targeting keywords that rank highly throughout the entire year. If you need other data sources, Google Trends and tools like Insta Keywords can also help you.

Lastly, do not be afraid to experiment. Think out of the box. Try to be creative in your keyword selection. As the hockey legend Wayne Gretzky said, ‘You miss 100{7763190c2940bc922582f128c4646ce172bb5ab5f2af15fda6a3585effc19535} of the shots you don’t take.’